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Crick in the Holler

Directed by Ursula Ellis

Narrative Short
USA | 18 min | 2017

During West Virginia’s 2014 Elk River chemical spill, a first-generation college student charged with the care of her rebellious younger sister instead becomes consumed by an issue with their water supply.

Ursula Ellis Director, Writer

Ursula Ellis is a writer/director and recent MFA graduate in screenwriting from Columbia University. A former Army brat with roots in Appalachia, she is committed to telling stories that explore underrepresented aspects of American life.

Her MFA thesis short, CRICK IN THE HOLLER, shot on location in her family home of West Virginia, received a 2016 Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Production Grant, as well as an IFP Audience Choice Award and Faculty Jury Honors at the 2017 Columbia University Film Festival. The film had its world festival premiere at the 2017 Woodstock Film Festival, before screening at the Citizen Jane Film Festival, Cucalorus Film Festival, and Lone Star Film Festival, where it was awarded best student short.

Her first feature film script, ANOMALIES, also set in West Virginia, placed in the 2015 Academy Nicholls Fellowship and is currently a nominee for the Humanitas Prize’s 2018 David and Lynn Angell College Comedy Fellowship.

Presently Ursula is in post-production on her proof-of-concept short film, FOR GEORGE ON HIS 30TH BIRTHDAY, starring esteemed stage and screen actors Michael Esper and Allie Gallerani, as well as developing various short, feature, and television projects.